Blog Post

BHAA news

Web Master • May 10, 2011

  As we have come to expect, our friends in RTÉ put on another fine event on Saturday last so Niall Mathews and his colleagues deserve our thanks for their efforts.  There was an attendance of over 400 and it all went very smoothly.  Weather was pleasant with a light, cooling shower for a while during the race.  Our starter this year was plucked from our own ranks and the honour went to Catherine McCauley (ISS) who had to sound the foghorn and hand it over to a steward before she could set off.  


The winner of the men’s race was Vinny Mulvey of Vinny Mulvey Fitness and he had to work hard to get ahead of Paul Fleming, Bernard Roe, Mark Ryan and BHAA chairman Paul O’Connell.  Vinny was running his first race in two years following a long bout of injury, surgery and rehabilitation.  He was delighted to complete the course and it was a great bonus for him to win it in sub-5 minute mile pace.  Donna Mahon (Wheelworx) won the women’s section in 29m 29s.  Remarkably, the oldest runner on the day, Brendan Earley (aged 83) was a member of the Department of Justice team that took first prize in Class D.  Results and photos are on the BHAA website.

There was a fine spread of refreshments in the RTÉ social club afterwards with enough to cater for the large crowd.  Niall Mathews had his usual surprises.  On hand to present the prizes was Seán Óg Ó Ceallalcháin, a sprightly 88 years of age and aiming to become the presenter of the longest running radio sports programme within the next year.  Seán Óg was a member of the Dublin hurling team that played in the national hurling league final the last time that Dublin appeared in it – in 1946 – so he will certainly have enjoyed the weekend.  

Seán Óg presented the prizes for the winter cross-country leagues.  He was kept busy because there were prizes for the first five people in each of the eight league categories.  These prizes cover the full range of BHAA standards and, as will be seen from the detailed results on the BHAA website, regular attendance is a great help in getting you into the prizes as positions in six races counted.  The total prize fund paid out for the leagues was €3,200.

Next we had the BHAA personality of the year and proud recipient was BHAA president Maurice Timmins.  Maurice was a founder member of the BHAA and runs in the M65 category.  He has run more than 150 marathons and is still going strong.  Indeed, Maurice ran a leg of the Raheny Shamrock Malin to Mizen marathon relay on Friday night and hurried back for the RTÉ race.  

There were loads of spot prizes and many race participants lost out because they were not present when their names were called.  One lucky winner got tickets to the Late Late Show after many names had been called without response.  It wasn’t a fix.

I mentioned Maurice Timmins and the Raheny Shamrock relay above.  Maurice was accompanied on that leg by Dave Brady who also made it to Donnybrook for the 5 mile race before heading off for the marathons in Limerick (Sunday) and Belfast (Monday). Incidentally there were numerous other BHAA members in the Raheny relay group – Mary Purdue-Smyth (System Dynamics), Sean McGoldrick (Sunday World), Tom Loftus (Dublin Bus), last year’s RTÉ winner, Mick Traynor (An Post) and probably a few others too.  Well done to all of them.  They are fundraising for Crumlin children’s hospital.

Our next BHAA race is the ESB beach race. This will be on Tuesday 17th May 2011 at 7.30pm on Sandymount strand .  Registration from 6pm at Clanna Gael/Fontenoy GAA club.  Bring your oldest runners – parts of the course can be a bit wet.  You might also want to pencil in the next race, the Social Welfare/Government Services 5 mile road race in Dunboyne on Tuesday 31 May 2011 at 8pm.  This race was the winner of the 2010 BHAA race of the year award.

And finally, a quote from Seán Óg Ó Ceallalcháin:  The four stages of ageing in men.  You don’t remember names; you don’t remember faces; you forget to close your fly; you forget to open your fly.  

Keep running and enjoy the longer evenings.

The Editor

By Charlie Cronin 31 May, 2023
 Dublin BHAA is extremely grateful to Paul Richardson who, at very short notice, took on the race director’s role for the 2023 Dunboyne 5-mile road race. This race has been ever-present on the BHAA calendar for over two decades with considerable participation and enjoyment. When he learnt that Paul Gorey, the former race director, would not be available, he came forward to rescue and manage the very effective delivery of this year’s race with style and panache. Many thanks. Needless to say a big thank you also to the many BHAA volunteers who came along on that night to help – a demonstration of sport’s community and volunteer spirit.
By BHAA Admin 19 Dec, 2022
Welcome to our BHAA AGM which covers 2022 following the Covid-19 Pandemic and the restricted times we lived in for 2 years. Let us remember our past colleagues who died during 2022. May they Rest In Pace Normal service was resumed in January 2022 with the staging of the Bank of Ireland cc race in Tymon Park. Our new Covid signs encouraged Social Distancing and Sanitisation! We were back in Tymon Park with Eir two weeks later – this time there was a marked change in attitude as the Covid Restrictions were eased at mid-night! And our Covid signs were redundant after 2 outings! At last we were free to race and Indoor Refreshments were available again. Everyone was delighted to be back racing and meeting old friends and foes! We completed our Spring cc races with Garda in a very windy Phoenix Park, with Central Bank in Wesley College, with Dublin Airport in ALSAA and with AIB/NUIM in ideal conditions in Maynooth College. BHAA noticed that numbers had not returned as per pre-Covid. There was still an element of fear in people mixing and getting infected by Covid. BHAA was not alone in seeing this trend. The BHAA Road Racing season began with a well-supported DCC event in St Annes Park which included a contra-flow due to the Farmers Market in the Park. This included the final race in the Lord Mayors Series in which she ran. Well done Alderman Caroline Conroy! I am not sure if she stayed for the Quiz? With the loss of the K-Club and BMS races in 2022, our summer calendar suffered. ESB Beach race was cancelled at the 11th hour due to inclement weather on the East Coast in mid-May – another sign of Global Warming???? Government Services staged their annual excellent 5-mile race in Dunboyne. Unfortunately Paul Gorey has stepped away from Race Promoting and BHAA are actively trying to recruit his successor – there is no mad rush with offers!!! DCC kept the flag flying with a well-supported 5k in Irishtown on a warm July day!  Pfizer brought the curtain down on our road season with a 5k around their Grange Castle Complex. Well done to Marius McNicholas on an excellent promotion. It was comforting to hear that our Pfizer Vaccines were manufactured in this Centre. The Irish Life Dublin Marathon was staged on the last Sunday in Oct and Jim Aughney and his teams did an excellent job in attracting over 25,000 entries. Unfortunately, our Irish Life cc race in Nov could not go ahead due to Track Upgrading in Santry but we hope normal service will resume in 2023. BHAA attended the Marathon Expo in RDS at the end of Oct. We used it to promote both our and the Cork BHAA 2022/23 calendars. Two new Race Promoters intimated their desire to host BHAA races – this was music to our ears! John Sheridan and BNP Paribas promoted a new 6k cc race in Kiltipper Park on 10th Dec in snow-covered fields. SDCC refused permission to race in Dodder Valley Park but with the help of Alan Merriman (TallaghtTown AFC), we were able to re-locate to Kiltipper Park. This has the potential to become one of our Signature events! Challenges – New members, New Promoters, Park Runs, Calendar Committee members – new people are always welcome, Sinead Lyons, Colm Murray and Mary Rigney made very valuable contributions to this BHAA committee. Kathleen Horgan and Jim Dwyer made welcome comebacks to this Committee. Recently, Irish Life Sports & Social made a very generous donation to BHAA – this was a major surprise and a Big Thank You to Mary, Kathleen and Irish Life. Thank you to all BHAA members for your continued support and loyalty. Unfortunately for BHAA, Stephen Naughton is stepping away from the Committee after many years in different roles as Chairman, Secretary and Race Organiser. After a tough personal year, he has been a tremendous supporter of BHAA over 40 years. I will miss his sound advice and support but I expect to see him racing more often. Thank you, Stephen. Thank you to all the other committee members who ensure that every race maintains a high standard with their input. Frank Wade, with his relentless pursuit of perfection ensures that I cannot drop my guard or make any school-boy errors around Timing! His attention to detail is frightening but it is extremely beneficial to BHAA. The Committee covers many areas, Admin, Finance, Web, Communications, Calendar, Registration, Results, Promoters, Venues and other Stakeholders – this Committee has ensured that all these areas are covered adequately. It is great to be back to Normal and we have a reasonable BHAA Calendar prepared for 2023. If BNP Paribas can put on a race within weeks of engaging with us, there must be more brave Promoters out there? Please come forward. Your input is important. New faces and new ideas are always welcomed by BHAA. Merry Christmas and have a great, sporting 2023 Charlie Cronin Chairman 2022
By BHAA Admin 16 Nov, 2022
Our cross-country season will be kicking off in Dodder Valley Park, Tallaght on Sat 10th December 2022 with a 6k race hosted by new race promoter, BNP Paribas.
By BHAA Admin 16 Nov, 2022
Support and hats off for trio of committee marathoners 2022
By BHAA Admin 20 May, 2022
Dublin BHAA committee were very saddened to learn of the sudden death of Myles Murphy. He was a great BHAA stalwart and member for several decades who ran and enjoyed races all over the country. He ran at the April 2022 BHAA DCC 4 mile race. He was a quiet gentleman who will be missed but well remembered. On behalf of Dublin BHAA members, sincere sympathies are extended to his partner Linda, family, and friends.
By BHAA Admin 03 Apr, 2022
 BHAA is pleased to report that long standing member Jim Kelly wrote a book about the BHAA running exploits of his colleagues and friends for over 40 years. Recently Lord Mayor Alison Gilliland launched “ The History of Dublin Corporation/City Council Runners 1979-2019”. The then Dublin Corporation runners club in 1979 – notably Noel Carroll- were instrumental in establishing the Dublin Marathon. The book charts the enduring legacy of 40 years of staff representing the Corporation and the City Council with their names and some short race biographies where possible. Dublin Corporation had three athletic Olympians, Noel Carroll, Des McGann, and Ailish Smyth of which there are accounts in the book. Just as important over the forty years more than 130 staff have represented the Corporation and Council in corporate races of the Dublin Business Houses Athletic Association wearing the Corporation and then Council singlet. Opportunity for similar books by long standing BHAA teams So it was important to have a formal record. Both Chair Charlie Cronin and Jim Kelly now encourage other regular BHAA teams – particularly major employers- to seriously consider researching and publishing accounts of their own racing history. It would be a shame if such rich sporting achievements are lost to memory. Charlie and Jim are available to advise for those interested.
By BHAA Admin 22 Jan, 2021
Dublin BHAA was very saddened to learn of the death of Jerry Kiernan. Jerry was a good man who contributed as a father, teacher, athlete, Olympian, coach and friend. He was twice winner of the Dublin City Marathon and had many athletic achievements to be proud of. BHAA were privileged that he competed successfully in… Read more
By BHAA Admin 22 Nov, 2020
By Web Master 11 Oct, 2020
I hope all our BHAA members are safe and well in these unprecedented times. Just to let you all know all races are cancelled until further notice. We will continue to follow Government and HSE advice. Please look out for updates on the BHAA website. The health and well being of our members, volunteers and… Read more
By BHAA Admin 10 Oct, 2020
It is with a heavy heart and sadness that Dublin BHAA learnt of the sudden passing of Pat Hooper yesterday. He still had so much to give. He contributed enormously since the 1970’s to Irish Athletics. He was a national marathon champion and ran in the 1980’s Moscow Olympics. He was an early supporter and… Read more
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